A Lancia Delta Integrale Is the Perfect Car For a Racing Mechanic

If you've ever bought an old Italian car, someone has probably said you'd better have a good relationship with your mechanic. It's a cliche, but when you're dealing with these temperamental, fragile, complex machines, there's an element of truth to it. That said, it also takes a good mechanic to appreciate the beauty underneath these cars.

Petrolicious profiles Martin Middleton, a long time racing mechanic in the UK, who drives a Lancia Delta Integrale. It's not a powerful car, but still, a brilliant tool for storming down a windy backroad.

The Lancia Delta started life as a simple front-wheel drive economy car in the late 1970s, but evolved into a rally homologation special. The Integrale got a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but more importantly, a clever all-wheel drive system for increased traction. It's certainly not powerful by modern standards, but you can exploit all of its horsepower with ease.

To compensate for Lancia's questionable workshmanship, Middleton's put a lot of time into fixing the his Integrale. The end results are worth it, though.

Watching this, it's hard not to want an Integrale of your own, but you better find someone like Middleton to take care of it first.

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